Charity: 216,000 died in cyclone

The British-based charity Save the Children Fund says that 216,000 Burmese died in cyclone Nargis and its aftermath, just 9,000 fewer than died in of all 11 countries hit by the 2004 Asian tsunami, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post.

The charity quoted the UN as its source, although UN officials told a press briefing in Bangkok today that Burmese government restrictions on access to the cyclone-hit areas, particularly the Irrawaddy delta, made it difficult to assess the full scale of the disaster.

"We simply don't have the information and I can't say when we will have it," said one official, Steve Marshall, who was one of the few UN personnel allowed into Burma.

Although Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein has announced that the 'first phase' of the government-led relief operation has been completed, hundreds of thousands of destitute, homeless villagers are still waiting for food and fresh water. Aid agencies say about three-quarters of the cyclone's survivors still need urgent aid.

Dead bodies still clog the region's waterways and devastated paddy fields, adding to the growing risk of diseases such as cholera and typhoid.

A Burmese relief worker who traveled to the region with 17 other volunteers, including doctors, emailed a friend in Britain with a description of how the boat they took through the delta with emergency supplies was besieged by starving villagers.

Prime Minister Thein Sein said phase two of the government's cyclone response programme would involve 'reconstruction'. Contracts have already been handed out to companies with close links to the regime.

Survivors report that able-bodies men and women were being forcibly recruited to work on rebuilding shattered government offices, police stations and schools, for a daily wage equivalent to less than 50 pence.

Villagers have been told by local authorities that they must rebuild their homes alone, although prices for building materials have rocketed. The cost of replacing a corrugated metal roof is equivalent to one year's wages for the average worker.

The UN’s top humanitarian official, John Holmes, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, is due in Burma on Sunday to try to persuade the regime to allow more foreign aid workers in. His mission is unlikely to succeed - the junta's reclusive leader, Senior General Than Shwe, is refusing to meet any foreign envoy and even rebuffed the Thai prime minister, whose government is nurturing friendly relations with the regime in Naypyidaw.

The Thai premier visited Burma this week and said on his return that he was convinced the Burmese government had the situation "under control"and was in no need of outside help.

FIRST POSTED MAY 16, 2008